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A pediatrician is attempting to examine an infant. He holds the stethescope to the tiny chest but the baby won’t stop squirming. It’s difficult to get an accurate listen. The doctor informs the mother that the baby can’t be allowed to run the show; he needs to show her who’s boss. He slams the baby on her back, places a hand around her neck, and nearly chokes her until she lies still. Does this sound absolutely crazy? Of course it does, because it is. Now replace the words pediatrician with veterinarian and baby with dog. Although the species is different, the dynamic is the same. The difference is that treating dogs this way is all too common.

The story that was partially responsible for inspiring this blog involved a nine-week-old puppy who had been nearly choked by the family vet. Unfortunately, there seens to be an endless supply of similar…

I read this article on XOJane the other day: “Cats Are Evil and I Hate Them.” It’s obviously meant to draw in all the people watching LOLCatz all day and drive traffic… but it’s still annoying. And I find it even more annoying because it was written by someone from The Good Men Project (which I’m starting to find is a really misleading name). The best men I’ve known in my life have loved cats — and animals in general.

It is completely deranged to me that any person would say, “I hate [insert type of animal]” and still be considered a good person. I don’t really like rats but I don’t go around declaring my hatred of them. They serve a purpose just like every other living thing on the planet. Hell, I even named the toad that lives in my basement. (His name is Badger, in…

While at the MSPCA-Angell in Boston, I had the opportunity to meet Kensi, Hetty, and G, three Chihuahua puppies each born with only two legs. I created a fairly successful YouTube video (200k+ views) of these amazing puppies that, along with a collection of photos, helped produce international press coverage. Applications for adoption came in from around the globe helping each of the puppies find a home.

As I was digging through some old documents today, I came across this draft of a video (also below) I made for the puppies and had never published. I wanted to show their brilliant energy and upbeat personalities. Let me know what you think.

I’ve had my dog for about three months. In this time I have discovered that she’s more or less fearless. Except for the normal wariness of vacuums and baths, nothing seems to phase her. I’m sure that part of it is her breed — she’s a Cattle Dog mix, and any 40 lb dog who is bred to take on a bull without backing down has to have nerves of steel — but I think part of it is that whoever had her before me, did a good job of socializing her. She seems to trust people implicitly. The day I picked her up at the Humane Society she allowed me to literally pick her up and put her in the car. (My dogs growing up would freak out if you tried to pick them up…even when they were old and having trouble getting around on their own.) Maybelle will…

Since I got her, Tulla has needed to be “expressed” as she doesn’t do it herself. Some dogs don’t. So, I usually wind up paying the vet $20 to do it. I once stayed in the room while they were doing it. Damn, is that a noxious smell. And, Tulla startled and sprayed the vet, who was none too pleased. It was hilarious.

I started to wonder if I could save myself the money and do it myself, so I started to look at how-to’s on the Internet. Here are a couple that I found: